POKÉMON Slam Poetry Is Super Effective

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Although Pokémonand slam poetry each experienced their heyday in the 1990s, it has, for some reason, taken until now for somebody to combine the two. It’s finally happened, though, thanks to The Warp Zone, in their video that, just to be clear, doesn’t feature expressive writing about the move Slam (via ViralViralVideos).

What it does feature, however, is some of the most recognizable (human) characters from the Pokémon anime, revealing some impactful truths about their Poké-centric lives. First up, of course, is Ash Ketchum, our beloved protagonist. Ash begins his poem with a deep, pronunciation-based exploration of the show’s tagline: “Gotta catch ’em all. Gotta catch… ‘EM all. Gotta catch ’em… all? [He takes a drag off his cigarette] Pokémon.”

It’s about as cheesy as it sounds, but it’s also fun and clever enough where we’ll let that slide. The bass and bongos kick in, and we also get some verse from Professor Oak: “I must profess, that I am a professor of Pokémon, from Aipom to Zapdos.” And of course, following a string of percussive alliteration, he has to mic drop with his most classic query: “Now tell me: Are you a boy, or are you a girl?”

Then there’s Team Rocket’s Jesse and James, who, as viewers know, come with a built-in slam poem that they recite virtually every time they appear on screen. Still, The Warp Zone has some fun with it and makes the credo their own, so mellow out, brother, and slip into some slam Poké-poetry above.